Virus protection

[Yepytzme]

Hello folks,  just a simple question albeit a controversial one.  I've seen it mentioned by several techies that having more than one or several virus protection programs running at the same time is not a very good idea due possibly to conflicts between them.  Based on that 'theory' I removed several programs I had which were Malwarebytes, superantispyware and Microsoft security essentials.  I, at one time had Avast and AVG but was told also that these were 'bloat' programs and did interfere with productivity.  Now I am at a dilemma, I obviously do not have a virus protection program running at this time except for a firewall.  Can anyone advise me of an "effective" virus protection program that I should use which will protect me and not affect the productivity of my computer?
I would appreciate any and all input/help anyone can provide and...at your earliest convenience...(I may be vulnerable right now).

Thanks,
'yep'

[Shane]

You never want more than one running at a time. Every AV causes a slow down on the system as it scans every file you open or run.

I myself use the free version of avast, it has the fastest scanner on the market while Microsoft has the slowest.

No AV is perfect and so I refuse to buy one. For myself Avast does fine and having the fastest scanner means it has the less slow down on the system. However I have had problems with it and it is bloated when you install the default.

When I install avast I do the custom install and remove everything except the file shield and the behavior shield. I have had trouble with the others and to be they are just bloat. Avast runs smooth with just those 2 that I use. After all I just want files scanned.

No AV can give 100% protection. They only protect against what they know and 99% of their false positives is them trying to detect new unknown viruses. Which is pointless as the virus makers always test their virus out against them before putting it out there.

Also a lot of viruses get on the system through holes in java and flash. Just by looking at a website and clicking nothing you can still get hit. So keeping java and flash up to date is key.

Shane

[Yepytzme]

Thank you Shane.  I will try Avast again and run it for a while.  I too am dubious about ANY program I think about downloading hence I do the custom install all the time to ensure I don't get add-ons or taskbars or whatever they offer, so far so good.  Again, thanks for the info, appreciate it.
Yep.

[FreeCat]

Howdy Shane and Yep - Virus security is one of the reasons I am moving as much as I can to Linux.  Do you think that the Java and Flash vulnerabilities are any less vulnerable in Linux?

I saw a compare chart for eset which looked good until I saw that Malwarebytes (mbar for anti-rootkit) and Avast were left off:

http://www.eset.com/us/home/whyeset/compare/

I also have been told to checkout hitman:

http://www.techspot.com/downloads/1278-hitman-pro.html

and xoftspy:

http://xoftspy.com/

There is also dotzilla if you have a website you want to keep safe:
http://www.securepaynet.net/security/website-security.aspx?ci=50291&prog_id=dotzilla

But, these are just names and I do not know what good or better.

Personally I have had AVG on most machines till about a year ago and Avast on one machine.

I have not had big problems (that I was aware of) until the last year but technicians from MS who have been on my machine tell me I have problems so I put on the MS defender.

Here are some more interesting comparison sites with even more software:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_antivirus_software

http://anti-virus-software-review.toptenreviews.com/

http://download.cnet.com/windows/antivirus-software/

http://www.av-comparatives.org/

So, that is my two cents and I guess since I paid for Malware bytes I will keep it but am still looking for the best.  Maybe I will try Avast with only the two shells.  But, I keep thinking TANSTAAFL, TANSTAAFL TANSTAAFL.

I am interested in hearing anyone else's thought on these as I have run out of time to go to them and have run out of time for this topic today.

[Yepytzme]

Hi FreeCat.  Don't take my word as gospel as I'm only also offering my opinion.  I am on Rogers High speed cable and have a program (paid) called TechXpert with them.  They take over my computer, run all kinds of programs to check for the flaws/problems I am having, go through several routines and eventually resolve the issues.  The last time I spoke the tech told me to run antivirus programs to see if I had a virus.  I, as mentioned before, had Malwarebytes and SuperAntiSpyware.  Here's the thing...I ran Malwarebytes in SafeMode and after an hour and a half it finished saying 'no issues detected'.  So then I ran SuperAntiSpyware and after some time it came back showing about 13 (thirteen) issues detected.  Majority of them were programs that were collecting cookies, one was a critical issue and several others were, sorry, don't remember what they were but SAS deleted one critical and quarantined the rest for security.  All I am saying is that it appears, based on the results of the two anti spyware programs, that SuperAntiSpyware found issues that MalwareBytes did not.  So judge for yourself.  These are 'free' programs, not paid for.  I was also told that yes I should delete both programs and just reinstall them only and when I need to run them.  I did, on Shane's advice, install Avast, ran the program and it too found some issues but I had a problem with it in that the issues should have been placed in a "Chest" but when I clicked on the 'apply to all', nothing happened.  The 'apply' didn't seem to want to work for me so I will have to rerun the program again and see if it was just my system or what.  Oh, and by the way, they (Rogers TechXpert) did mention Hitman which they use all the time so that's next on my to do list.  Hope this was helpful in some way.
Yep.

[FreeCat]

Hi Yep - thanks for the info.  I am still engaged in preserving my recovered  W7 so the physical disk can be brought into a virtual box so I have not looked further except that one of the principals of www.OMGtechhelp.com told me the very best was stopzilla  --- supposedly it is a "...if you box can handle it" thing so I guess it is heavy CPU usage.  Oh, these people who create viruses just to mess with you - uuuugh grrr.... !  I mean is it truly random blind terrorism.   

[Shane]

I never trust test results from any AV as they will always make themselves look good. Instead I like these

http://www.av-comparatives.org/

Shane

[zz]

I'm no expert and don't claim to be but aren't Anti Virus, Anti Spyware and Anti Malware  programs different things, each having it's own use?
 It is my understanding that I should, and I do, have all three programs.  I have the Free versions of Malwarebytes for Malware, SuperAntiSpyware for Spyware, and Avast for Viruses.

[Willy2]

I have the "paid for" version of AVAST. And the free version of Malwarebytes. I run Malwarebytes every 1 to 2 weeks to see whether AVAST has overlooked something.

If someone has e.g the AVAST AV and firewall running (I have) then one can disable MS WinDefender & MS Firewall. It increases performance of one's computer system.

See info in this thread:
http://www.tweaking.com/forums/index.php?topic=1195